House Closed: Theater We Saw

It's that time of year: the 2026-27 season announcements are rolling in, and Scully and Sims have… mixed feelings. They work through the latest reveals from Classic Stage Company, The Public Theater, and more, weighing what's exciting, what's puzzling, and what's making them question the state of the city's mid-size institutions.Plus they discuss two science-based shows: Have You Ever Thought About at the Bushwick Starr, written and performed by Michael Oluokun alongside Myles Madden—an interactive science-class-gone-solo-show—and 73 Seconds, En Garde Arts' new piece written and performed by Jared Mezzocchi and directed by Aya Ogawa, staged inside a sixty-four-seat planetarium.

This week, Sims & Scully are joined by dramaturg, cultural commentator, and TikToker Grace Walker (NotKristenBell) for a wide-ranging conversation that starts with the ongoing discourse around theater influencers, free tickets, and who's actually telling the truth online—and whether any of that is the scummiest thing Broadway producers are doing anyway.Connor battles the rain to catch Cumulo, Emily Batsford's wordless puppet piece at Mitu 580 in Gowanus, in which a figure named Plum free-falls through a sky full of sentient clouds and monsters.All three also caught End of Days by Nile Harris and Dyer Rhoades, a durational performance piece at the Whitney Biennial where a man is drilled out of a crate and delivers a monologue in Russian about a Birkin bag possibly made of human skin. Finally, the group takes on Kenrex at the Lucille Lortel—an Olivier-winning true crime solo piece.Fair warning: the sound quality this episode is a little rough. We won't be accepting any Oliviers for sound design anytime soon—but we promise we're getting better. Thanks for growing with us!For more information on the shows discussed:Cumulo: https://www.cumuloshow.com/End of Days: https://whitney.org/events/end-of-daysKenrex: https://kenrextheplay.com/